So Warm for February, Oil on Linen, 9x12

(revised 2/16/12)

The only true blue sky painting of the week was painted after we had left Menogyn and took a little side trip up the Superior coast. 

Superstition, Oil on Linen, 12x16

I no longer feel guilty about working on this one for 3 days. The painting is a lot better than it was 3 days ago even though I thought it was done then. I've sort of made up the rocks based on a group in the Superstition mountains of Arizona. You would think that would give me a lot of latitude in shaping them, but this is really not the case. The forces that shape mountains do so in a very specific way, and if you try to reshape them without considering how they were created, you will end up with mountains made of Play-Doh. 

Another challenge with this painting was shooting a photo of it. Months ago I thought I had figured out a technique to shoot my work, but recently I've changed how I apply the paint to the canvas, and as a result, there is more of a sheen to deal with. This is my best shot of this painting to date but I'm still not satisfied. The learning goes on.

Tea Pot Rock, Oil on Linen, 11x14

Again, this is painted right on top of one I did three years ago while on a painting excursion to Sedona, Arizona. "Why not just start a new canvas?" you might ask. Because, besides the fact that I don't like to waste resources, I don't like to have bad paintings around; especially ones I painted. 

Arizona 1, Oil on Linen, 12x16

(revised 1/17/12)

Three years ago we were in Arizona painting. The other day I was going through the reject pile and pulled out several from the Arizona trip. My goal this week is see if I can bring them to life. 

The original painting underneath what you are seeing here was kind of washed out and lackluster. I hadn't really captured the day and the rocks looked kind of loaf-like. This is a complete re-do of the original.

Dan Patch and Lafayette, Oil on Linen, 12x16

Another reworking of an older painting, this one is from July of 2010. I was not satisfied with the sky in the original painting. I've since learned a bit more about making less go farther.

Ice Break, Oil on Linen, 12x16

(revised painting. The original was painted in February of 2011)

They had not yet begun construction on the Lafayette Bridge in Saint Paul when I painted this on location last winter. Yesterday with yet another snow storm avoiding us and with nothing to look at but barren frozen ground, I got out some older paintings that were crying for some touch-up work. This one was high on my list. It needed some color adjustment and got it.

Spring Melt, Oil on Linen, 18x24

(revised 1/12/12)

Happy New Year. We finally got a coating of ice and snow over the New Year's weekend, followed by strong cold winds. So I decided to stay home and do some studio painting. Spring Melt is based on a smaller field study that I painted in March of 2010. Every now and then it's good to check your progress as a painter. Although I did a fair job on capturing the day on the previous painting, it lacked a bit in anatomy. Perhaps it's just that this is a bigger painting, or that I took my time getting the drawing right, but I tend to believe that the reason it is better than the painting I did two years ago is that the lessons of four and five years ago are finally starting to sink in.

Orange Ya Glad, Oil on Linen, 12x16

This time of year I should be painting snow scenes, but alas we have very little of that. There is another painting underneath this one of the exact same subject but mostly in beige and grey. It was painted in the late afternoon just as the clouds rolled in and grayed out any lighting effect worth painting.  As we were cleaning up, the setting sun popped out again giving everything a warm glow. I put a couple of color notes on the painting  and packed it away. The next day, I looked at the painting and the only thing I liked were the color notes, so I redid the painting on top of the grey and beige one incorporating the sunset colors throughout. 

Left Behind, Oil on Linen, 11x14

After a Spring and Summer of incredible floods, we just experienced the driest Fall on record. One of the results is that there is more exposed drift wood in the Mississippi River than I ever remember seeing. This time of year should be all about snow paintings. Last year at this time we had about 30 inches on the ground, which, by the way, also was a record. The little snow we've received so far has melted except on icy patches of rivers and lakes. 

Fog Lifting, 18x24, Oil on Linen

Details shot by Tom Shearer, Duluth, MN

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/tshearer/

Pepin Heights, Oil on Canvas, 11x14

(revised 12/27/11. 12-29-11

This canvas was started on location a few years ago. I don't remember why I never finished it. Not one to waste canvases on unfinished work, I got it out the other day to see what I could come up with working from memory and imagination. This is what I remember. I might have a bluff or two in the wrong place. So be it. This place probably does not exist in its natural state anymore. As I recall, it was all being parceled out for development.

Breeze in the Meadow, Oil on Linen, 16x12

Painted earlier this Fall, I finally got around to fixing a few minor details today. 

Sky paintings are a challenge because the subject is constantly moving and changing. I worked on the bottom of the painting until the clouds and light seemed to be about as interesting as they were going to get and then I attacked the sky with vigor. Afterwords, as I was cleaning up, the setting sun and sky put on another fantastic display but that will have to be painted from memory.

Textures of Autumn, Oil on Linen, 18x24

(revised 12-5, 12-14, 12-29-11, 1-3-12)
(FINAL repairs 2-23-12)

As you can see, I have returned to this painting quite a few times. It's kind of a testing ground for some new methods I am trying out. As I learn more, I add to the painting. At some point one needs to say it's done. It's Done. There, I said it.

Warm in November, Oil on Linen, 12x16

(reworked December 2. More sunshine added December 14.)

Anticipation was the name of the game here. There were just enough clouds in the sky that I suspected that the the golden hour was going be fantastic. So I set up in a location where I figured I would have a good composition and color without being blinded by the setting sun. Then it was a matter of planning the painting so I would be able to capture the illusive colors as quickly as possible when they appeared. I was constantly asking myself questions like, "where will that shadow be in an hour? What color will the grass be when the sky turns yellow. When you look at a plein air painting, you should be able to tell what time of day it is. Forget the fact that it took the artist 3 or 4 hours to complete the painting, during which time the lighting was constantly changing. 

There is a great video you may have seen on public TV this week. It was made during the Grand Marais Paintout this summer. I competed in that paint out but not the "quick paint" portion which the video focuses on. I think the producers did a great job of capturing what a plein air painter is up against. Click here to watch the video. You'll see some friends of mine in action.

Lion's Park, 12x9, Oil on Linen

There's an Outdoor Painters of Minnesota show that will be opening soon at the The Frameworks here in Saint Paul this weekend. The reception is Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7pm, The FrameWorks, 2022 Ford Parkway. I am going to enter several paintings including this one, so you might see it there. If not, it will still be a good show to see. We have some extraordinarily talented members.

The River, Oil on Linen, 12x16

The last couple of paintings were painted incredibly fast as the light conditions had changed before I even had a chance to set up. I had to mix up piles of color and just put color notes around the canvases. What happens is that you will second guess yourself once the light has changed. When the clouds move in, you see tons of detail in the shadows you never saw when the scene was brightly lit and you can hardly believe that the brilliant colors you have on your palette were actually there a few minutes ago. When this happens it's time to trust your instincts more than your eyes.

From the Fort, Oil on Linen, 12x9

Painted in August, I realized that I had not shot it yet. I have now.

Valley Below, 12x16, Oil on Linen (SOLD)

After a summer of battling with those tricky greens that abound here in southern Minnesota, it feels good to dip into the cadmiums of autumn. I was struck by the contrast between the cool minty green and the warm yellows and oranges of this location.

October, Oil on Linen, 12x16

Another beautiful day to paint; 65º and calm and a wedding going on behind me.

Mid-morning Moonset (SOLD)

On the way to the Parley Lake Winery paint out we were stopped dead in our tracks by this scene.

Bringing in the Crop

Painted this weekend at the Parley Lake Winery, I was setting up my easel as these guys were picking the last grapes for the season. I was there as part of the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota paint out. 

Loring Alleyway, Oil on Linen, 16x12
By Tom McGregor

Purple Bells, Bee Balm and Daisies, Oil on Linen 16x12
By Jerri Jo Brandt

Saint Paul Art Crawl this Weekend, October 7-9

Fri. 6-10pm, Sat. 12-8pm, Sun. 12-5pm
See Jerri Jo and me at our studio in the Northwestern Building.
275 East 4th Street, Suite 705, Saint Paul

Rieck’s Lake, Oil on Linen, 9x12 (SOLD)

Once, Rieck’s Lake was an open body of water. Settlers cleared the trees and plowed the land. Without the protective cover, soil from the Buffalo River watershed filled Riecks Lake. In 1935 Lock and Dam 4 was built. The Mississippi River submerged Rieck’s Lake with eight feet of water. In the years since, erosion is again filling Rieck’s Lake. In 2003 landowners, with a DNR grant, installed 42 erosion control dams and 24 acres of grassed waterways to slow the erosion.

Raising of the Flag, Oil on Linen, 12x16

The vast majority of my plein air paintings are done in the late afternoon and early evening. If you are going to paint in the morning and capture the good colors, you have to get up pretty early. This is one I did last Friday morning at the Fort Snelling Historic Site. I was pretty much done with the painting by the time they shot off the cannon and raised the flag. I liked the way the light only shone through the very bottom of the flag leaving the rest sort of muted and understated. I didn't want to do another flag waving proudly in the wind painting. That wasn't the day. It was quiet and serene with practically no wind.

Dodge in Gold, Oil on Linen, 12x16

There is starting to be a backlog of paintings in my studio that were painted on location and need a little studio touch-up and photo documentation. It's always hard for me to paint indoors when the weather is nice, but I have to. The Saint Paul Art Crawl is Oct 7-9 and I want to have a lot of new art for it. 

You have one more week to see the PAN show at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, WI, and the same for the show at the Johnson Heritage Post Gallery in  Grand Marais MN.

The Backwater, Oil on Linen, 24x36
updated 1/8/13

Yesterday my wife reminded me that I haven't posted anything in quite awhile. It's not that I haven't been painting; I have. I just haven't finished one in a while. This painting is a perfect example. It still needs something, but today I was pleased enough with the progress so far that I decided to share it with you in it's incomplete state.

This 24x36 painting is from a 12x16 I did last year. On that painting, I painted the egret while she fished. That's easy to do; they hold perfectly still while they stalk their prey. But while I was painting, a second egret flew into the scene. At the time I thought it would make a nice painting. This is what I remember seeing.

Pigeon River, Oil on Linen, 9x12

Lake Kimball, Oil on Linen, 9x12 (SOLD)

Devil's Track River, Oil on Linen, 12x9

Above is a small sampling of the paintings from the Grand Marais  paintout. I apologize for the quality of the photos. I was shooting them at our camp site as I framed them.

 If you are up in Grand Marais between now and September 26, be sure to take in the show at the Johnson Heritage Post Gallery. Somebody can correct my numbers but I'm guessing there are about 200 paintings by about 30 to 40 artists that all took part in the event.

If you're in Hudson, WI, before September 25, be sure to take in the Project Art for Nature show at the Phipps Center for the Arts.

And of course, there is always the St. Paul Art Crawl October 7-9. Jerri Jo and I will be in my studio at 275 E 4th street in lovely downtown Saint Paul.

Parley Lake Winery, Oil on Linen, 12x16

Thank you Parley Lake Winery and Deardorff Vinyards for hosting the August Outdoor Painters of Minnesota Paintout. We had a great time.

Disney's Lift Bridge, Oil on Linen, 9x12 (SOLD)

There's tons of detail here that I could have gotten bogged down with. Instead, I decided to paint fast, thick and loose and not worry about the anatomy of all those boats. From a distance, I see boats but up close it's totally chaotic.

Across the Wide Expanse, Oil on Linen, 12x16

Here is another view of Lake Pepin. I never tire of this lake. We saw a large flock of pelicans circling over us, more eagles than we could count, and dozens of song birds serenaded us while we painted. The deer got pretty close before they noticed us. I like that about plein air painting. You stand in one place long enough, animals will come right up close, either out of curiosity or because you are so quiet and immersed in your painting that they don't see you as a threat.